Looking for something different
"In Germany directors and actors allow themselves to do things you would never see in London, Paris or New York. Can you imagine such a production in London for instance? Without hats? And props? No - they all rely on naturalism," Samuel Finzi, the actor who plays the character of Vladimir once told playstosee.com in an interview.
According to Finzi, this creativity exists due to German theater's unique system of art that looks to present a "completely different approach to theater."
According to Panteleev, his trip to China has proved inspirational in this respect. He mentioned that he had the opportunity to attend a rehearsal of a traditional Chinese opera while in Shanghai.
What he saw gave him food for thought.
"They always want to repeat a movement, repeat a sound, repeat music. I'm trying at every single rehearsal to not repeat the last one, to just move forward and look for something different," he told the Global Times.
Simple questions
"Who is Godot?" someone once asked Beckett after his work premiered in 1953.
His answer was: "I don't know."
Showing his loyalty Beckett, Panteleev gave the same answer when it comes to his adaptation.
Panteleev said that he doesn't feel that the play is doing anything too unique, as it is merely asking the same questions that human beings around the world ask themselves everyday. It is for this reason he was confident that the reaction to the play in China would be good.
It seems that Panteleev was right to feel confident.
"Waiting for Godot sticks to Beckett's script, but shows creativity when in comes to stage setting and presentation. It successfully pays respect to the original while pleasing audiences," writes one review on Chinese media review site Douban.
At first, Panteleev didn't have a chance to get a clear understanding of Chinese audiences' reaction to the play. At first all he could do was sit quietly behind the curtain during the performance and watch the audience. But after the second performance in Shanghai, he had a chance to talk and interact with the audience during a workshop.
"There were probably 100 people sitting there, asking very clever and interesting questions and very patiently waiting for explanations. I think they are our friends in a way. Or they became our friends in a way," he said.
